103. Yoo Eunha Fan Card
103. Yoo Eunha Fan Card
***
From its initial design to its interior, the café called Terre Fleurie had aimed to set itself apart from ordinary cafés by cultivating a certain mystique, an air of luxury, and it had been built with that intention.
Because of that, they had paid considerable attention from the very beginning to everything from staff training down to the smallest details, and so rather than hiring part-timers, they had brought in employees through formal recruitment.
And now, the café named Terre Fleurie had three full-time employees.
Seo Jihye, Park Junseok, Kim Minwoo.
They had worked at Terre Fleurie for two years and four years respectively, all staff with a fair amount of experience.
As they were preparing to open the café like any other day, the manager suddenly told them that someone had rented out the café, and they were delighted, saying they'd be coasting through today.
Café rentals happened occasionally—really, only occasionally. It was one thing to say the café could be rented, but in reality, almost no one ever actually used the rental service.
At most, it happened maybe once a year, if that—an extremely rare occurrence. For all practical purposes, it might as well have never happened.
In the first place, this wasn't a café that did business by renting out its space because it normally had no customers, and since the clientele who used the café regardless of weekdays or weekends was fairly solid, even the rental price was by no means cheap.
So they had wondered who on earth had rented it.
"...No way, seriously!? Jeanne d'Arc?"
"Is that true, Minwoo!?"
Jihye and Junseok stared at Minwoo, disbelief in their voices.
Minwoo, the café employee who had earlier guided Eunha and Serin to their designated seats on the second floor, grinned.
"Yeah. For real. She went up as soon as she got here, so you guys who were prepping inside wouldn't have seen her—I guided her myself. Man, even from that quick glimpse, it felt like there was some kind of aura around her. I used to think people were just making a fuss over celebrities, but it turns out that feeling's real, you know?"
At Minwoo's words, spoken with a swagger as if recounting a heroic tale, Jihye and Junseok's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"Ah, then could we... get an autograph or something?"
When Jihye spoke as if she couldn't wait, Junseok shook his head slightly.
"She rented the café for personal privacy... she'd probably feel burdened for no reason."
Junseok said that, then continued as if something struck him as odd.
"But isn't Jeanne d'Arc taking a break from the league right now and not playing matches? What's she doing at a café?"
Jihye, who was a huge Jeanne d'Arc fan and kept track of her schedule, looked at Junseok as if he were hopeless.
"Ugh, you dummy, she's on break, so she came to a café to rest! Just from the interviews where she said she was struggling, she's managing her mental health, so she probably came out just to get a change of pace."
"Oh... well, I guess?"
Watching the two bicker quietly, Minwoo added.
"Well, and one more thing—she didn't come alone. She's meeting someone. Not a guy, a woman... and that woman's looks were absolutely insane too. A sponsor-related meeting? Or maybe a model shooting the same ad? Probably someone in that category. They say people end up hanging out with their own kind, and the moment I saw them, that saying really came to mind."
"Ah. Minwoo, saying all that just makes me even more curious."
"If she's meeting with Eunha one-on-one, isn't that woman probably someone really famous or something?"
Junseok spoke as if sighing in regret, while Jihye kept expressing curiosity.
"Hmm... I don't know if she's famous, but her hair color was unusual—silver. Her face looked mixed-race too... Anyway, she's probably someone famous from overseas or something. That's all I can tell you. And just in case—I don't think you'd do it, but don't try to go up to the second floor except for taking orders or being called. The moment a complaint comes in from Jeanne d'Arc or the silver-haired woman, the café's reputation could be ruined just like that."
The person who had rented the café now was none other than the famous player called Jeanne d'Arc.
She was a player with such overwhelming popularity and stature that there was even a saying that ads shot by reasonably famous idol groups or celebrities couldn't match a single ad shot by Jeanne d'Arc herself.
So if even the slightest bit of gossip arose, the reputation of the café they'd worked at for years could plummet in an instant.
"Tch... what a shame. She's right here, and we can't even see Jeanne d'Arc's face."
"Minwoo! When an order or call comes in, I can go, right!?"
At Jihye's awkward attempt to act cute as she looked at Minwoo, he smiled brightly and said.
"Yeah, no."
When would they ever get another chance to see Jeanne d'Arc in person like this?
In truth, Minwoo was a fan of Jeanne d'Arc too.
...
Rumble.
Minwoo, who had loaded a serving cart with countless desserts and stopped in front of the stairs leading to the second floor, let out a small sigh without realizing it.
"...How am I supposed to carry all of this?"
"Right? Minwoo."
Even Jihye, who had moved with Minwoo to support him with the large order, let out a small sigh, unlike her initial excitement.
If they had to load these desserts one by one onto trays and carry them up to the second floor, they'd have to make several round trips, and just thinking about it made her a little dizzy.
Whatever else, one thing was certain: they couldn't pull the serving cart up to the second floor.
"Hey, Minwoo. The person Jeanne d'Arc is meeting—maybe she's not a model or anything, but... you know, some famous overseas mukbang NewTuber or something? I mean, how do two people order this much?"
"Who knows... with looks like that, if she were a mukbang NewTuber, she'd have hit ten million subscribers just like that."
As he answered, Minwoo recalled the appearance of the silver-haired woman he had guided along with Jeanne d'Arc. Even thinking back on it now, it was an ideal appearance with not a single flaw to pick at.
If she'd been a mukbang NewTuber with looks like that, he'd surely have known about her already. For now, though, Minwoo stepped onto the stairs and spoke as if he'd finished deciding how to carry everything.
"I'll go back and forth carrying the desserts, so Jihye, you just... hand me trays with the desserts and drinks in the right order from somewhere in the middle."
"Minwoo, will you be okay on your own?"
"I'll just keep going back and forth. At the end, you can come up too, pretending to help set up the food, and at least get a look at Jeanne d'Arc's face before you go."
At Minwoo's quietly considerate remark, Jihye let out a small laugh.
***
Screech!
With the sound of a table dragging across the floor, it was soon joined to another table.
And the sight of a male employee neatly arranging the ordered desserts.
"There were too many menu items to bring everything at once. I'll bring the rest up in order and set them out as I go."
After that, Serin watched the employee make several trips back and forth, wondering just how much Eunha had ordered.
Then, at the end, a female employee in the same uniform came up carrying desserts with him and began finishing the arrangement of the desserts on the table.
The female employee was gazing at Eunha so fervently that anyone could see she was a fan.
Yet even so, she thoroughly refrained from speaking first.
Only her eyes and expression.
"..."
Every time she looked at Eunha, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly, and she seemed unable to hide her delight. Watching her, I couldn't help but speak up.
Because she looked that earnest.
"That employee seems to be a fan of yours, Eunha."
"...A fan of mine?"
"Yes, she seems to really like you, Eunha."
At Serin's words, Eunha turned her head slightly and looked at Jihye. Unlike when she looked at Serin, her expression was utterly indifferent.
But even at that expression from Eunha, Jihye stopped mid-way through setting up the desserts and drinks and trembled without realizing it.
"...Would it be possible to get an autograph?"
Jihye carefully spoke up under Eunha's gaze. At that moment, Minwoo, thinking oh no, quickly poked Jihye in the side and opened his mouth.
"Ah, we're sorry. You really don't need to pay it any mind."
"No. It's fine. She seems to be a fan of mine, so I'll give her an autograph."
At Minwoo's words, Eunha shook her head slightly and spoke. Since Serin had deliberately pointed it out, and Serin was visibly watching this scene with interest even now, Eunha didn't want to show herself refusing that kindness in front of her fan.
She wanted to leave a good impression by being considerate even in small ways.
At Eunha's words, Jihye, even though she'd been poked in the side, beamed and resolutely pulled out a card she had prepared in advance and held it out.
Looking at that card, Serin let out an involuntary exclamation.
"Wow."
On the front of the card was the luxurious 2030 ACK logo, and on the card's surface was a photo—a beautifully printed photo of Eunha lightly kissing the championship trophy.
'Is this what they call a celebrity thing?'
Serin had known that Jeanne d'Arc, Yoo Eunha, was popular from various articles and mentions by fans in communities, but seeing an actual fan holding a fan card printed with Yoo Eunha's photo made her realize just how popular Eunha really was.
It really was like seeing an actual celebrity.
'No, even celebrities probably don't have many fans carrying fan cards like that.'
And the fact that she had it prepared now meant she carried that card around with her normally. Serin wondered just how much she must like Jeanne d'Arc to do that.
At Serin's exclamation, Eunha flinched slightly in return, finished her signature on the fan card she'd received, and handed it back to Jihye.
"...Oh my god!"
Jihye received the fan card Eunha handed over with both hands as if it were a treasure, then smiled with 100% genuine sincerity and thanked her.
"Ah, I'm really a fan of yours, Eunha. But I never thought I'd actually get an autograph in person like this. I knew you'd announced you were taking a break recently, and I really hope you rest well this time and return to the season without any issues! I've actually gone to watch TSJ matches in person at the stadium. And then to coincidentally see you up close like this today—I'm so honored... ah, really... I'm so nervous I can't even speak properly, but you're so pretty in person too!!"
At the employee's rapid outpouring of words and emotion, Eunha simply gave a small nod in place of an answer.
As if such fan reactions were familiar to her, Eunha showed no particular emotion, and Serin was actually taken aback by her attitude.
A fan who was expressing her adoration that fervently,
'That's it?'
It was as if the Jeanne d'Arc Serin had seen in broadcasts and matches—the one who rarely showed emotion—had finally appeared before her in person.
"Well then. We've finished setting up, so we'll be going now. We hope you both have a good time."
Minwoo, smiling awkwardly as he led the visibly elated Jihye, took her by the arm, bowed his head, and left.
As she was led away, the female employee's eyes were still gazing at Eunha as if honey were dripping from them.
Serin even wondered if what they'd just witnessed was ordinary.
Then, as soon as they disappeared.
The colorful, extravagant desserts laid out on the table came into view.
From desserts stacked in layers on antique-style plates fitted neatly into trays like a tower, to various waffles decorating the tray's exterior like artistic ornaments.
And beyond that, apple pie, Apfelstrudel, and pancakes decorated with colorful chocolates.
The desserts were so excessive they overflowed, to the point Serin wondered if they'd really ordered this many kinds.
While she was looking at those desserts and deliberating over which to try first.
Slide.
At that moment, a plate was suddenly pushed forward from across the table.
Among the beautifully plated desserts, she saw a piece of apple pie cut into an easy-to-eat size.
Serin looked at Eunha.
Receiving that gaze, Eunha—unlike earlier when she'd been stealing glances at Serin and acting shy—now seemed to have regained a bit of composure, even smiling softly with her eyes.
"Serin, try the apple pie first."